Recently, several rumors have been spreading throughout the Syrian capital of Damascus, and its neighboring countryside, regarding administrative measures related to compulsory military conscription and the possibility of calling on reservists to join their previous military combat units.
The uncertainty surrounding the issue has led to anxiety among all those able to carry a weapon. This means all males born between 1973 and 1995, as stipulated by the law. Security checkpoints around the capital and its countryside have been taking stricter measures to scrutinize identification papers.
They are checking the validity of postponements of military service due to travel or having dependents on one hand, and for reservists who completed their military service but who had been recalled to their previous units on the other. This is in addition to the issuing of government recommendations to scrutinize the military status of state employees.
The situation led to many rumors, culminating in one claiming that "the government will soon announce a general military mobilization of all those able to carry weapons." Another one maintained that "military checkpoints will conscript the young men as soon as they are stopped." Yet, so far, none of those rumors have been denied by official sources, with the exception of some social media pages which posted undocumented clarifications.
Speaking to Al-Akhbar, an informed source described some of the measures currently under way. "The people who are being stopped at the checkpoints are those who were absent from their military or reserve service. However, not all reservists were called in, only those in specific and critical professions," the source explained.
"On the other hand, state employees evading their reserve service will face dismissal and will join their units. Those who joined directly will be allowed to come back to their work after completing the service," the source added. However, he denied one of the rumors that claims "the government intends to discharge those currently retained by the army, following the end of their service, and replace them with reservists."
Some young men whose deferral of service has expired are taking precautionary measures. This includes travel-related postponements requiring a request for a delay of between six to nine months to travel outside the country, in return for a collateral of 50,000 Syrian pounds ($250).
"After all that I heard, I decided to travel outside the country after graduating," a student told Al-Akhbar. "In the past, it was possible to postpone the service in a number of ways. But now it seems it is becoming more strict."
Other young men tried to register for the official end of school examination to get a delay. However, this was quickly stopped by Decree 350 of 2014, which requires "free applicants to the secondary certificate [to] take a test before being accepted, while the issue does not apply to regular students."
Older age brackets (up to 40 years old), who performed their military service earlier, have more to worry about if they are called up for the reserve service, especially those who are heads of households. "They should clarify what will happen to former soldiers like us, at least to prepare for any future possibility and to be able to arrange our daily affairs in these difficult circumstances," Khaled, a father of three, explained.
"A year and a half ago, when the Mufti of the Republic [Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun] spoke of a general mobilization from Sharia's point of view, official sources denied that his statement was an implicit message to the public," he added. "But today, they are scrutinizing our situation without us knowing what could happen."
By Laith al-Khatib
